Awning comprising a vibration-damped drive

ABSTRACT

An awning comprises
         two holding brackets arranged on a base member between which a fabric shaft is mounted for rotation;   an awning fabric which is windable in on or out on the fabric shaft; and   a motor drive for rotating the fabric shaft, which motor drive is installed in the awning shaft and is mounted on one of the holding brackets in a vibration-damped manner, and   a vibration insulation device which is completely arranged inside the fabric shaft between the motor drive and the holding bracket, the vibration insulation device comprising
           a support head which secures the motor drive against rotation,   a radial damping member of a vibration-damping, flexible material which positively engages the support head in the direction of rotation; and   a mounting head which is non-rotatably mounted on the holding bracket and positively engages the radial damping member in the direction of rotation.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the priority of German Patent Application, Serial No. 10 2012 202 824.2, filed Feb. 24, 2012, pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety as if fully set forth herein.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to an awning comprising

-   -   two holding brackets arranged on a base member between which a         fabric shaft is mounted for rotation;     -   an awning fabric which is windable on and off the fabric shaft;         and     -   a motor drive for rotating the fabric shaft, which motor drive         is installed in the awning shaft and is mounted on one of the         holding brackets in a vibration-damped manner.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Awnings of this type have a basic design which has been known for a long time, comprising a base member mountable to a part of a building, two holding brackets arranged thereto, a fabric shaft mounted for rotation therebetween, an awning fabric that is windable in an out on the awning shaft, and a motor drive incorporated in the awning shaft for rotating the latter, the motor drive being mounted on one of the holding brackets in a vibration-damped manner. The term “base member” means any component by means of which the awning, such as an articulated-arm awning, a winter garden awning or a window awning, is fixable to a part of a building such as an outer wall, a winter garden or a window reveal. Owing to the design of an awning, base members of this type typically include awning housings, mounting panels, mounting frames or the like.

Particularly when awning installations are operated automatically using intelligent control systems, the sound produced during operation poses a problem. Awnings provided with sun, wind and/or rain sensors are wound in or out at different times depending on the user's control parameter settings. For example, this allows the awnings to be automatically wound out when the sun begins to shine The noise produced by the mechanical drive is then transmitted via the building structure and the air. This noise is extremely disturbing to the tenants of the building as it disturbs their peace or even interrupts their sleep.

In the past, various producers of awnings and awning drives have made an effort to minimize this noise by mechanical means to achieve a passive noise reduction. Thus a low-vibration fixed bearing is known through prior public use which, in the form of an elastomeric sound absorber, is integrated in the holding bracket of the motor drive incorporated in the fabric shaft and is distributed under the name “dB Absorber Bracket”, article number 9015223, of Somfy GmbH, 72108 Rottenburg/Neckar, Germany. The drawback of this low-vibration bearing is that it is positioned between the holding bracket of the awning and the motor head. Therefore, at a given width of the awning, the fabric shaft needs to be shortened, thus requiring the use of a more narrow fabric which results in a smaller shaded area.

A completely different concept of noise reduction is disclosed in DE 10 2010 029 881 A1. This system uses a noise influencing system comprising a sound actuator which generates a counter-sound pattern adapted to the sound pattern produced when the awning is wound in or out so as to reduce the sound and noise produced by the awning components acted upon by the actuator. Due to the additional acoustic components, this system is more complex than a passive vibration and noise damping system.

Starting from the prior art problems described above, it is the object of the invention to improve an awning using a purely mechanical noise reduction system in such a way that the shaded area is not reduced when the damping components are installed.

This object is achieved by providing a vibration insulation device which is completely arranged inside the fabric shaft between the motor drive and the holding bracket used for fixing the latter. The motor drive is protected against rotation in the fabric shaft by means of a support head. Together with the support head, a radial damping member of a vibration-damping, flexible material positively engages the motor drive in the direction of rotation. This assembly is then fixed to the holding bracket by means of a mounting head which is arranged thereto in a non-rotating manner and positively engages the damping unit in the direction of rotation.

The mutual positive engagement of mounting head, radial damping member and support head in the direction of rotation of these components ensures a complete vibration decoupling between the motor drive arranged in the fabric shaft and the holding bracket. Both support head and mounting head as well as the radial damping member are fully integrated in the fabric shaft; this ensures that unlike in prior art, the fabric shaft does not have to be shortened. Therefore the shaded area is not reduced when using the inventive awning

The shoring moment of the motor drive, which occurs when the fabric shaft is operated, is transmitted to the holding bracket via the positively engaging components mentioned above so that due to its flexible nature, the radial damping member is compressed.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the support head is designed as a non-round external profile part extending in the axial direction of the fabric shaft, with the radial damping member—which is in the shape of a ring-like closed component—being slid on said external profile part. The radial damping member is formed by a plurality of radial damping rings which are arranged in a row when seen in the axial direction of the fabric shaft, thus ensuring an improved mountability. Arranged in the fabric shaft, both support head and mounting head can be made longer or shorter when seen in the axial direction, depending on the desired damping properties. The longer support head and mounting head, the longer the radial damping member, in other words the higher the number of radial damping rings arranged in a row.

In a preferred embodiment, the mounting head—similar to the support head—can be designed as a non-round, bell-shaped internal profile part extending in the axial direction of the fabric shaft, with the radial damping member—which is in the shape of a ring-like, closed component—being slid into said internal profile part together with the support head. The three components of the vibration insulation device, mounting head, radial damping member and support head, are therefore coaxially arranged one inside the other, thus ensuring a very compact design of the vibration insulation device.

A particularly effective transmission of torque between the support head and the radial damping member is achievable by means of the star-shaped cross-section of the two components, thus ensuring a reliable transmission of the shoring moment applied by the motor drive.

Likewise, designing the cross-section of the mounting head as an approximately blossom-shaped internal profile part with a corresponding external cross-section of the radial damping member ensures a stable connection between the two components for an optimal transmission of the momentum generated when the motor is mounted.

Arranging the components of the vibration insulation device in a coaxial manner ensures that a large space inside the fabric shaft, which is virtually empty in the first place, is optimally used. The radial damping member should have a length which is at least twice the size of the external diameter of the cylindrical motor drive housing so as to have an advantageous effect on the damping properties.

The damping properties of the vibration insulation device can be further improved by means of an axial damping member between the mounting head and the support head. This damping member is again made of a vibration-damping, flexible material, thus preventing vibrations from being transmitted via the front side of the support head extending in the axial direction. Therefore, the axial damping member is preferably arranged between said front side and the bottom of the receptacle for the internal profile part. The axial damping member may be a disk having an outer contour corresponding to the internal profile of the mounting head. This ensures that the disk, just as the radial damping member, is positively arranged inside the mounting head and is therefore securely held in position.

The mounting head, the support head and, if present, the axial damping member, may each be provided with through-holes for a connection or control cable of the motor drive, thus ensuring a trouble-free power supply and control of the motor drive.

A foamed plastic material designed for example as a closed-cell, modified PU foam material having a Shore hardness of 30 to 40 provides all the parameters which are advantageous for the inventive use.

According to another preferred embodiment, the foamed plastic material has a compressibility of 40%, i.e. it is compressible to a size of 40% of its initial volume without permanently losing its foam structure and flexibility. This results in a damping behavior which is well adapted to the intended use of the radial and axial damping members while ensuring a long service live. The wear resistance of the vibration insulation device according to the invention is even more improved by another constructive measure according to which a rotation stop is provided between the support head and the mounting head, the rotation stop preferably being mounted on the support head for limiting the angle of rotation between these two components. This rotation stop prevents excessive compression and therefore destruction of the radial damping member due to a relative torsional movement between support head, radial damping member and mounting head. As soon as the rotation stop is activated, the shoring moment of the motor drive is directly transmitted from the support head to the mounting head so that the radial damping member is no longer subjected to any further torque increase and compression. Another function of the rotation stop is to maintain the correct functioning of the awning in the event of a worn-out or broken radial damping member. The rotation stop allows transmission of the motor drive's bending torque from the support head to the mounting head even if the radial damping member is broken, thus ensuring that the motor drive is mounted inside the fabric shaft in an essentially non-rotating manner.

According to a final preferred embodiment, a mounting sleeve is mounted for rotation on the mounting head of the vibration insulation device for carrying the fabric shaft. Therefore the mounting head has a double function which provides a considerable constructional advantage. Mounting the fabric shaft to the mounting head via the mounting sleeve ensures that the fabric shaft is supported in an optimal off-center position which facilitates an even and smooth rotational movement of the fabric shaft.

Further features, details and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the ensuing description of an embodiment by means of the attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view of a holding bracket of an awning, seen from the side of the fabric shaft;

FIG. 2 is a section through an awning along section line II-II according to FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged detailed section through region III according to FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of an awning in the region of the motor drive comprising a vibration insulation device;

FIG. 5 is a side view of a support head of the vibration insulation device;

FIG. 6 is a view of the support head from arrow direction VI according to FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 an axial section through a mounting head of the vibration insulation device; and

FIG. 8 a view of the mounting head from arrow direction VIII according to FIG. 7.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

With reference to FIGS. 1 to 4, the partially shown awning comprises two holding brackets 1 arranged on a base member not shown in greater detail, of which only one is shown in the drawings. For clarity, the mentioned base member by means of which the awning is secured to a housing wall or the like is omitted from the Figures as well.

The awning is a housing awning in which the components are arranged in a housing 2. These components essentially include the tube-shaped fabric shaft 3 which is mounted between the holding bracket 1 shown in the Figures and the second holding bracket; the fabric shaft 3 is mounted for rotation on the holding brackets 1 in a way that is set out below. An awning fabric 4 which is shown dashed in FIG. 3 can be wound in and out by means of the fabric shaft 3. The extending and retracting movement of the awning fabric 4 is of no importance in the present invention; it can for example be performed using joint arms and a drop-out bar together with the motor drive 5 arranged in the fabric shaft 3.

The motor drive 5, comprising an electric motor and a correspondingly designed intermediate gear, is arranged in a tube-shaped housing profile 6. At one end of the housing profile 6, the so-called motor head 7 is arranged via which the motor drive 5 is non-rotatably mounted to the holding bracket 1 as will be explained in greater detail below. At the opposite end of the housing profile 6, the driver plate 8 is arranged which is non-rotationally connected to the fabric shaft 3. This allows the fabric shaft 3 to be rotated for winding the awning fabric 4 in or out.

The motor head 7 is connected to the holding bracket 7 via a vibration insulation device the entirety of which is designated by the reference numeral 50 and which is now explained in more detail by means of FIGS. 3 to 8, with the best overview being shown in the exploded view according to FIG. 4. According to these Figures, a square 9 is mounted to the motor head 7 which protrudes from the motor head in the axial direction of the fabric shaft 3 and is secured thereto using screws 10. Designated by the reference numeral 11, a support head having an internal square is slid on the square 9 so that support head 11, square 9 and motor head 7 are non-rotationally coupled to each other. Starting from its disk-shaped base 13, the support head 11 has a non-round external profile part 14 which extends in the axial direction A of the fabric shaft 3 and has an approximately star-shaped cross-section as shown in FIG. 6. The individual “beams” are formed by corresponding axial parallel webs.

This support head 11 comprising its external profile part 14 is provided with three radial damping rings 16.1 to 16.3 each having a star-shaped internal cross-section which are slid on the external profile part 14 of the support head 11 one behind the other. The radial damping rings 16.1 to 16.3 together form a radial damping member 16 which positively engages the support head 11 when seen in the direction of rotation.

An axial damping member 17 is formed by a corresponding disk which is arranged in front of the front side 18 of the support head 11 and which, similarly to the radial damping rings 16.1 to 16.3, is formed of a vibration-damping, flexible material. A suitable material is for example a closed-cell, modified polyurethane foam having a Shore hardness of 30 to 40.

Finally, the vibration insulation device 50 is completed by a mounting head 19 which is secured to the holding bracket 1 by means of the fastening screws 20 via another square 21. The mounting head 19 is a bell-shaped component which is provided with an internal profile part extending in the axial direction A of the fabric shaft 3. This internal profile part has an approximately blossom-shaped internal cross-section into which the radial damping member 16, which has an approximately blossom-shaped external cross-section as well that matches the internal cross-section of the internal profile part, is slid. In other words, the mounting head 19 and the radial damping member 16 positively engage each other in the radial direction. With reference to FIG. 3, the axial damping member 17 is arranged in the mounting head 19 between the front side 18 of the support head 11 and the bottom 22 of the receptacle 23 forming the internal profile part.

This drawing also shows that the length L of the radial damping member 16 formed by the three damping rings 16.1 to 16.3 is considerably larger than the external diameter of the motor drive 5 or has approximately the same diameter as the fabric shaft 3. If required, the support head 11, the radial damping member 16 and the mounting head 19 can have a much greater length in the axial direction A as the fabric shaft 3 is virtually empty on the side of the driver plate 8 so that the motor drive 5 can be moved much farther in this direction, i.e. to the right according to FIGS. 3 and 4.

On the cylindrical outer surface 24 of the mounting head 19, a mounting sleeve 25 is mounted for rotation which is inserted into the tubular opening of the fabric shaft 3 disposed on this side. At this end, the fabric shaft 3 is thus mounted for rotation on the mounting head 19 and therefore on the holding bracket 1.

The mounting head 19, the support head 11 and the axial damping member 17 each have through-holes 27 for a connection and/or control cable of the motor drive 5.

With particular reference to FIG. 5, the support head 11 is provided with a rotation stop 26 which is designed as an approximately blossom-shaped bulge which protrudes from the external profile part 14 of the support head 11 and is formed in front of the base 13 of the support head 11. Along its periphery, the external contour of said rotation stop 26 is slightly displaced inwards relative to the internal contour of the receptacle 23 in the mounting head 19 so that there are some millimeters of air between these two contours.

When a torque is applied to the support head 11 by the motor drive 5, the radial damping member 16, which is in positive engagement with the support head 11 and the mounting head 19, is compressed in the peripheral direction so that a counter force is generated. This ensures that the motor drive 5 is non-rotationally mounted and damped by means of the radial damping member 16 and the axial damping member 17. These damping members ensure that the holding bracket 1 and the fabric shaft 3 are insulated against all vibrations and oscillations from the motor drive 5. If for whatever reasons the torque applied by the motor drive 5 reaches a value that would cause excessive compression of the radial damping member 16, the rotation stop 26 hits the internal contour of the receptacle 23 of the mounting head 19 after a particular angle of rotation so that there is no further compression of the radial damping member 16, with the support head 11 then being directly supported by the mounting head 19. This process would also take place if the radial damping member 16 became porous over time and lost its structure due to ageing.

Finally it shall be noted that the vibration insulation device 50 according to the invention can, in a similar design, also be arranged between the driver plate 8 and the fabric shaft 3. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An awning comprising two holding brackets (1) arranged on a base member between which a fabric shaft (3) is mounted for rotation; an awning fabric (4) which is windable on and off the fabric shaft (3); and a motor drive (5) for rotating the fabric shaft (3), which motor drive (5) is installed in the awning shaft (3) and is mounted on one of the holding brackets (1) in a vibration-damped manner, comprising a vibration insulation device (50) which is completely arranged inside the fabric shaft (3) between the motor drive (5) and the holding bracket (1), the vibration insulation device (50) comprising a support head (11) which secures the motor drive (5) against rotation, a radial damping member (16) of a vibration-damping, flexible material which positively engages the support head (11) in the direction of rotation; and a mounting head (19) which is non-rotatably mounted on the holding bracket (1) and positively engages the radial damping member (16) in the direction of rotation.
 2. An awning according to claim 1, wherein the support head (11) is a non-round external profile part (14) which extends in an axial direction (A) of the fabric shaft (3), with the radial damping member (16)—as a ring-like closed part—being slid on said external profile part (14).
 3. An awning according to claim 1, wherein the radial damping member (16) is formed by a plurality of radial damping rings (16.1-16.3) which are arranged in a row when seen in the axial direction (A) of the fabric shaft (3).
 4. An awning according to claim 1, wherein the mounting head (19) is a bell-shaped internal profile part which is non-round on the inside and extends in the axial direction (A) of the fabric shaft (3), with the radial damping member (16)—as a ring-like closed part—being inserted in said internal profile part together with the mounting head (11).
 5. An awning according to claim 2, wherein the support head (11) is an external profile part (14) having an approximately star-shaped cross-section, with the ring-like radial damping member (16) being slid thereon with its star-shaped internal cross-section.
 6. An awning according to claim 4, wherein the mounting head (19) has a receptacle (23) in the form of an internal profile part having an approximately blossom-shaped cross-section in which receptacle (23) the ring-like radial damping member (16) is inserted with its approximately blossom-shaped external cross-section.
 7. An awning according to claim 1, wherein a length (L) of the radial damping member (16) is greater than the size of the external diameter of the cylindrical housing (6) of the motor drive (5).
 8. An awning according to claim 1, wherein a length (L) of the radial damping member (16) has at least twice the size of the external diameter of the cylindrical housing (6) of the motor drive (5).
 9. An awning according to claim 1, wherein between the mounting head (19) and the support head (11), an axial damping member (17) is arranged which is made of a vibration-damping, flexible material.
 10. An awning according to claim 9, wherein the axial damping member (17) is inserted between the front side (18) of the support head (11) and the bottom (22) of the receptacle (23) of the mounting head (19).
 11. An awning according to claim 9, wherein the axial damping member (17) is a disk having an external contour which is adapted to the internal profile of the receptacle (23) of the mounting head (19).
 12. An awning according to claim 1, wherein the mounting head (19), the support head (11) and, if provided, the axial damping member (17) are each provided with through-holes (27) for at least one of a connection cable and a control cable of the motor drive (5).
 13. An awning according to claim 1, wherein the radial and, if provided, the axial damping member (16, 17) are made of a foamed plastic material.
 14. An awning according to claim 1, wherein the radial and, if provided, the axial damping member (16, 17) are made of a closed-cell, modified PU foam having a Shore hardness of 30 to
 40. 15. An awning according to claim 13, wherein the foamed plastic material has a compressibility of 40%.
 16. An awning according to claim 1, wherein between the support head (11) and the mounting head (19), a rotation stop (26) is provided for limiting the angle of rotation between these two components.
 17. An awning according to claim 16, wherein the rotation stop (26) is arranged on the support head (11).
 18. An awning according to claim 1, wherein a mounting sleeve (25) carrying the fabric shaft (3) is mounted for rotation on the mounting head (19). 